Lock in before the hike? The 12-month WiFi prepay math in Nepal

A colleague in Baneshwor asked me the same question three times last week, each time a little more urgently. Her Vianet plan renews in Mangsir. The news says internet could go up 50 to 100%. Should she pay for a whole year now, while the old price still stands?

The answer is mostly yes, but not for the reason she thinks. The annual plan is cheaper whether or not any hike happens. The protection against a hike is real but softer than "locked in" sounds.

What a year costs, paid three ways

The discount is the same story at every large provider. These are the published prices for the plans each ISP actually shows on its website today.

Savings are my arithmetic: four quarterly payments minus one annual payment. Subisu's prices are from Nepalitelecom's 7 October roundup because Subisu's own package page did not load.

NT's plan also has a monthly option at Rs 815. Twelve of those cost Rs 9,780, so the annual plan saves Rs 1,281, or 13.1%.

Compare tax treatment before comparing prices. Vianet says its prices include VAT. WorldLink's plan page says TSC is included in the internet charge and "VAT will be charged additionally." Add 13% VAT to WorldLink's Rs 14,894 and you get Rs 16,830, the same as Vianet's figure. NT's tariff page does not say either way, so ask at the counter.

The setup charges tilt it further

Annual plans also come with lower one-time charges for new connections.

A new WorldLink customer pays Rs 2,000 less upfront on the annual plan. NT's monthly and quarterly packages exclude the router, and NT lists a single-band one at Rs 2,825. These only matter if you are connecting fresh or switching ISPs. At renewal, you pay only the package price.

Does prepaying actually lock the price?

This is the question behind the rush, and the honest answer is "probably, with an asterisk."

The evidence that it does. When ISPs stopped selling plans below 50 Mbps from Asoj 19, 2083, Clickmandu reported that existing subscribers would keep their service until their billing cycles ended. The Kathmandu Post reported the same. In 2023, when DishHome's 75 Mbps annual plan went from Rs 6,180 to Rs 9,630, TechLekh reported the new price as applying to existing users' annual plans, but not as a charge added to a term already paid. I found no case of a Nepali ISP adding a surcharge to a package that was already paid.

The asterisk. The contracts leave room for one.

• WorldLink's subscriber agreement says, in its terms-and-conditions list, that taxes and charges set by the Government of Nepal from time to time are borne by the customer (clause 6). The next clause caps the tariff at the NTA-approved rate (clause 7).
• Vianet's terms say it "may change any terms, conditions, rates, fees, expenses, or charges" at any time, with notice by email.

The hike being threatened is about tax. On Asoj 6, 2083 the Supreme Court dismissed the ISPs' writs, so the 10% telecom service charge now applies to the "maintenance" half of each bill that used to escape it. That is exactly the kind of government charge WorldLink's clause 6 covers. The full story is in the Rs 30 billion tax bill post.

How big a hike are you dodging?

Two numbers float around, and they are very different.

The baseline comes from Nepalitelecom's worked example after TSC was cut to 10% in FY 2079/80. The second row is my arithmetic on the same method. The tax change alone is worth under 5%. The 50 to 100% figure comes from WorldLink's CEO Keshav Nepal. Nepalitelecom reported that such a hike "could be temporary" until the dues are paid, which points to most of it being about recovering years of back-dues.

That larger number has no regulatory approval. NTA told Nepal Press the court ordered no 50% or 100% hike, and that any tariff above the approved one needs its approval under Section 42 of the Telecommunications Act, 2053. Spokesperson Min Prasad Aryal said the legal limits would be clearer once the full judgment is published. Consumer advocate Jyoti Baniya said there is "no legal basis" for it. In May 2023 NTA also warned ISPs against jointly raising prices.

So on a Rs 16,830 annual plan, prepaying today protects you from roughly Rs 800 if only the tax change goes through (5%, my arithmetic), or Rs 8,415 if a 50% hike is approved. The 12% discount is certain. The hike protection is a bet.

What it costs to tie up the money

Very little, at today's deposit rates.

Nepal Bank's rates effective Aswin 1, 2083 pay 2.76% on normal savings. If you kept Rs 16,830 in that account and paid Rs 4,800 every quarter out of it, the balance would average roughly half over the year. That earns about Rs 230, or about Rs 220 after the 6% TDS on interest (my arithmetic). Prepaying saves Rs 2,370 against quarterly at Vianet.

Real deposit rates are negative anyway. NRB's first-month figures for FY 2083/84 show CPI inflation at 5.96% against a commercial-bank average deposit rate of 3.15%. The savings-account-below-inflation post has the full picture.

The real cost of prepaying is liquidity. Rs 16,830 is a third of a Rs 50,000 salary. If paying it in one go means dipping into your emergency fund, quarterly is the better choice.

When prepaying is the wrong call

The discount assumes you use all twelve months, and the refund rules are strict.

• WorldLink: "Once the payment is done by the customer, payment will not be refunded," per its plan page.
• Vianet: no refunds except deposits, unless the service becomes unusable because of a technical fault on Vianet's side. Then the refund is pro-rata for unused time, minus a 10% early-termination charge, and device, cable, rental and installation charges are not refunded.
• Subisu: its FAQ says relocation costs Rs 500 plus cable at actual cost, and with advance notice you can deactivate temporarily without paying for the unused period.

That makes three situations where a year upfront is a mistake:

1. You might move. A renter whose agreement ends in six months, or anyone expecting a transfer. Check whether your ISP even covers the new area before relocation fees become the smaller problem. The rent agreement post covers notice periods.
2. Your ISP is small. On 19 May 2026 NTA gave 17 ISPs 15 days to explain why their licences should not be cancelled over unpaid dues, rural telecom fund arrears and missing audits. In December 2023 it annulled the licences of United Telecom, Max Net Solution and Chitwan Network for failing to renew them on time. I could not find what happened to those customers' prepaid money, and that silence is itself the warning.
3. You're on the new 50 Mbps tier and can't see the annual price. The Kathmandu Post found Vianet's approved 50 to 100 Mbps plans missing from its website, and Subisu selling its 50 Mbps plan only by phone. The news-reported monthly prices are Rs 905 (Subisu), Rs 951 (Vianet) and Rs 950 (WorldLink). Ask for the 12-month figure in writing before paying.

A two-minute test before you renew

Ask your ISP for three numbers, all with VAT included: the monthly or quarterly price, the 12-month price, and any charges that apply at renewal. Then:

• 12 × monthly price, or 4 × quarterly, minus the annual price = what prepaying saves. If it is under 5%, the discount is not worth losing the flexibility.
• Months you are sure you'll stay at this address. Under ten? Pay quarterly.
• Annual price as a share of your monthly take-home. Over a quarter? Pay quarterly unless you have a sinking fund for it.

If all three pass, prepay, and keep the receipt and a screenshot of the plan page. If the ISP later adds a charge to a paid package, that is your evidence for an NTA complaint.

What you actually need to know

Prepay for the discount, not the hike. Paying for a year saves 10 to 13% at every large ISP, and paying for a year probably covers you until your term ends, based on how the Asoj 19 change was handled. Neither WorldLink's nor Vianet's terms promise that, though.

The 50 to 100% figure is an ISP warning, not a tariff. Until NTA approves something, the sure change is a tax adjustment worth about 5%.

Prepay only if you'll stay at the same address and you trust your ISP to still be operating in twelve months. For the background on why bills are moving, start with why your WiFi bill just went up.

Got an annual quote that beats these, or a renewal with a surprise surcharge? Send it to parjanya57@gmail.com.

This post is part of the Nepal Money Basics guide — the save-the-gap section.